Insights and Innovations in Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation ― Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation, Cape Town,

Insights and Innovations in Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation comprises 360 papers that were presented at the Sixth International Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation (SEMC 2016, Cape Town, South Africa, 5-7 September 2016). The papers reflect the broad scope of the SEMC conferences, and cover a wide range of engineering structures (buildings, bridges, towers, roofs, foundations, offshore structures, tunnels, dams, vessels, vehicles and machinery) and engineering materials (steel, aluminium, concrete, masonry, timber, glass, polymers, composites, laminates, smart materials).

Some contributions present the latest insights and new understanding on (i) the mechanics of structures and systems (dynamics, vibration, seismic response, instability, buckling, soil-structure interaction), and (ii) the mechanics of materials and fluids (elasticity, plasticity, fluid-structure interaction, flow through porous media, biomechanics, fracture, fatigue, bond, creep, shrinkage). Other contributions report on (iii) recent advances in computational modelling and testing (numerical simulations, finite-element modeling, experimental testing), and (iv) developments and innovations in structural engineering (planning, analysis, design, construction, assembly, maintenance, repair and retrofitting of structures).

Insights and Innovations in Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation is particularly of interest to civil, structural, mechanical, marine and aerospace engineers. Researchers, developers, practitioners and academics in these disciplines will find the content useful. Short versions of the papers, intended to be concise but self-contained summaries of the full papers, are collected in the book, while the full versions of the papers are on the accompanying CD.

Alphose Zingoni is Professor of Structural Engineering and Mechanics in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He holds a PhD from Imperial College London, and was a recipient of a fellowship of the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 from 1992 to 1994. He has held appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Zimbabwe from 1996 to 1999, and as Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town from 2008 to 2012. His research interests span shell structures, vibration analysis, studies of symmetry in structural mechanics, and group-theoretic formulations. He has written many articles and three books in these areas, and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. He has been chair and editor of the SEMC (Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation) series of conferences since its inauguration in 2001. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers, the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering, and the South African Academy of Engineering.